The instant invention builds upon concepts disclosed in the cross-referenced applications. In particular, a centerpiece of the second of the two cross-referenced applications is the promulgation of a novel assembly for writing/reading high-density data on a recording media as a series of tags comprising a magnetic information bit pattern, the assembly comprising:
1) a magnetic bias field generator for applying a magnetic bias field on the media;
2) a thermal heater for generating and directing an incident thermal wave to the media;
3) a first controller for coordinating a mutual positioning of the incident thermal wave and the media for inducing a direct thermal coupling therebetween;
4) a magnetic sensor capable of reading written data on the media; and
5) a second controller for coordinating a mutual positioning of the magnetic sensor and the media; the assembly acting as a reader by operating the second controller; the assembly acting as a writer by operating the first controller and realizing at least one of the following actions:
i) using an information signal for modulating the magnetic bias field;
ii) using an information signal for modulating the power of the incident thermal wave to the media.
This assembly is an important contribution to the art.
First of all, this writer/reader can realize a dual and independent capability or functionality, namely, a writer and/or a reader, and this, either sequentially or simultaneously.
Second this writer/reader can provide a simple and complete solution for testing magnetic recording, for example (and most profoundly), on the nanometer scale. To restate this last critical advantagexe2x80x94we know of no present technology, with particular reference to hard magnetic materials, which can enable the study of their properties on a nanometer scale.
In the present invention, we build upon the just defined assembly for writing/reading, by fully preserving and exploiting its many advantages, while adding to it a capability for parallel thermal recording and/or parallel magnetic sensing output or reading, as well as a capability for quasi-parallel thermal recording and/or quasi-parallel magnetic sensing output or reading.
Accordingly, the present invention comprises an assembly for parallel writing/reading high density data on a recording media comprising a magnetic information bit pattern, the assembly including:
1) a plurality of media probes wherein each probe is selected from the group consisting of a thermal heater for generating and directing an incident thermal wave to the media for enabling reading and/or writing, and, a magnetic sensor for enabling reading and/or writing;
2) a magnetic bias field generator for applying a magnetic bias field on the media;
3) a position controller for coordinating a mutual positioning of an enabled probe and the media for inducing a direct thermal coupling therebetween;
4) a control electronics for:
(i) addressing a media probe for enabling and coordinating its reading and/or writing; and
(ii) coordinating parallel or quasi-parallel reading and/or writing with an array of media probes by instruction to the position controller;
the assembly acting as a writer by realizing at least one of the following actions per media probe:
a) using an information signal for modulating the magnetic bias field;
b) using an information signal for modulating the power of an incident thermal wave to the media;
the assembly acting as a reader by operating the position controller vis a vis a preselected media probe.
The high degree of parallelism that may be obtained by way of the present invention enables one to secure high data rates and densities, for example, densities greater than 100 Gbit/in2 accompanied with data rates of greater than 0.1 Gbit/s.
In overview, the present invention in one embodiment preferably comprises a parallel probe array (Nxc3x97M) incorporating thermal near-field heaters (or writers) as well as magnetic sensor (as readers), which can be moved en bloc as well as independently of each other. To this end, the present invention uses a suitable controlling electronics for coordinating a parallel or quasi-parallel reading/writing, as well as controlling the positioning of an individual probe in an array. The control electronics enables the addressing of an individual or preselected set of probes, for controlling reading and/or writing, thereby securing the considerable advantage of versatility and efficiency of reading/writing in a parallel operation mode.